Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1887-07-08
4 DOMESTIC PROBLElL

-EdiH r. PcrfH
-
4 DOMESTIC PROBLEM
"a womau's education is a mistake from
beginning to end said Roxy Stephens, in
sudden outburst Of despair Yes, it is
Here have / been going to school all my
life, and | don't know 0uyHHg. There
never could have been," Roxy deliberately
added, "even in the Dark Ages. such an
| ignoramus as am ! don't even know
how to feed the chickens properly, as IL
downy colony of little "Dominiques" scat
tered this way and that before the mass of
scalded meal which Roxy had flung too alb
ruptly into their midst, while the mother
hen. sounding trumpet-note of shril
alarm, settled back against the picket fence,
with tapping wings and feathers all a-bris-
tie.
The door-yard, starred with yellow dan
delion blooms and tufted with rosettes Of
pantun leaves was stepped in the soft
noon heats n chrrditr-dc frise Of pink and
puce -colored hollyhocks guarded the gar
| den wall, and faint scent of rpening
raspberries hoated on the air. Down by
the maple swamp cow-bells tinkled softly.
and some wild bird whistled the same re
frain over and over again with melodiou-
persistency from the hazel copse across the
road. And Roxy Stephens sitting dolor
ouSly on the doOr-stoue, with her chin sup
ported in both hands, neither saw nor heard
those sweet interpretations Of nature.
Up to a certain degree there was truth
in her lamentation Roxy had been seven
teen years old when she came to live with
her Aunt Sally Stephens on the Redhrook
Farm. She was bright haired, fresh-com-
/ l. 4 l. l.
phaszed by perfectly arched brows a
! thought heavier than falls TO the usual lot of
womankind. They had always been a se-
cret grievance to her, these black leech-
| like curves but, had she only known it,
the dark, strongly pencilled brows were
what gave character to her whole face, and
| redeemed it from the insipidty of mere
| pink and white prettiness. In a certain
fashion her mind corresponded To her eye
| brows. There was quaint vein of origin
ulity pervadmg it. Her nature was strong
| ly outlined too and in the fullness Of her
| youth and vitality she had once believed
that She was born to conquer fate.
RoXnnna Stephens was "A city-brel girl.
/ duughtcr If Miss Sally's oldest brother. who
| had died unexpectedly. leaving a mother
| less girl totally mpruyided for. Thu, do
| people give mortgages to Fate, and dying.
| leave others to foreclusc ON them. There
| is undoubtedly a certain degree of injustice
| in it hut who shall venture to carp against
the Lords will Miss Sally herself, a com
| planning little woman. with face full of
| fine wrinkles, like China Grape, and blue
| eyes hidden behind misty spectacles, uc-
| ceptel the trust az She had accepted all
| the other mcOnvenienccs Of her life, limp
! ly and without protest. She had never had
| tl.
| If she had any active pleasure, it was in
gathering the humble herbs and simples of
her native fields and drying them in prep
| aration for the aches and pains that beset
| her poor humanity. ITS always well TO
| be prepared. " said she Il don't hold with
| the homupathies. nor yet hain't no faith
| in calomel and mercury. There ain { moth
| in like roots and herbs, and every neigh
| bor within ten miles around comes to me
| for 'em when they've sickness in the house. -
And to this little old brown woman in "A
| little old brown farmhouse came RoXauna.
the young princess who had set forth to
conquer the world.
I'm desput glad you've come, Roxan-
ner, said Miss Stephens, shifting at a
bunch Of wilted pennyroyal II amt able
| to keep on doin' as l hev been doin'. Some
| how it's borne in upon me that Providence
has sent you. I've worked powerful hard
all my life, and now III Jest rest a spell,
and let you keep house for me. hahn I
no doubt at all but what we'll get along to-
| gether tirst-rate, you and me-
Roxy looked with solemn eyes at her
aunt. Evidently the old lady had faith as
a grain of mustard seed and there was
something contagious in her example.
1T must be very easy TO keep house, -
| said Roxy, fresh from the classroom and
recitation-hall. So the household helm was
delivered into her hands, and theu-not till
| then-she realized the fact of her exceed
| ing ignorance.
| Not for worlds, however, would she have
confessed her inability TO rule the domestic
mtnage. Aunt Sally had profound CON
tempt for book -arnin', ~ and did not hest
tate to assert roundly that "ef brother 81
mon had took her advice he would hev
| brung up Roxanner in quite a different
way and the girl had a certain silent
pride in vindicating her fathers Judgment.
So, 10y the help of a dog's-eared cookery
book which she found in the garret, she
learned some of the simpler secrets of the
| cuisine, and her own neat nature taught
her the mysteries of sweeping and scrub
bing while old linda, jet black negress,
with grizzled wool and a soft appealing
voice like a flute, who pervaded the neigh
| borhood, came twice in the month to wash
and iron for the little household.
"Jes' what ole Hinda's good for said
she dat, an muffin else, Missy can do
mos anything but dar amt no sense in
| Missy stanin' at de wash tub. Leave dat
ar TO ole Hinda."
And Roxy's spirits rose with her good
luck
''I'm getting TO be a housekeeper," said
she, cbeerily, to herself. "Those fried fish
this morning tasted quite good, and the
wild plums that | preserved yesterday are
certainly going to be a success
But if it is always darkest just before
! daylight it is also sometimes brightest be-
| fore an unexpected thunder-cloud And
one day old Hinda bethought herself to feel
i'll of a Monday morning-of rheumatic fe-
yer.
Roxy went to carry her little pail of
milk aud a stone crock of the wild plums,
for Kinda had child-lille fondness for
| sweets
''ITinda," she faltered, "can't you wash
for me this week Do try-there's a good
Hinda.'
The old woman wriggled herself about
ON her uneasy couch wringing her hands,
and rolling up the yellow-white of her-Af-
,
"Not dis var week, honey she answer
ed, plaintively; mot for de Queen an all
de royal chilluns, No ner next week,
neider. DON knows I'll eber wash agiu,
honey" with a mounml croak in her voice.
Roxy's countenance fell But Hmda. -
she pleaded, "Aunt Sally isn't able to wash;
and besides, she has found whole thicket
Of witch hazel somewhere up the creek,
and she won't sleep night nor day until she
gets the roots all dug and scraped, and the
bark stripped off and put stepping in alco-
hol Hinda'-with sudden Inspiration
do you think / could do the washing y
"iou, Miss Roxy-oh, git out
But, Hinda, somebody must wash.
1T amt no work for young lady, Miss
Roxy said Kinda, decisively.
Everything is work for a young lady, "
pleaded Roxy, IF it has got to be done
Hinda shook her head, ''Yoll break yo'
back, honey, an parboil yo' hands, an
ooh, don't mind all that, Kinda, if on
ly Aunt Sally would think the clothes looked
decent, urged Roxy. Tell me how to do
it, Hinda-there's darling
"Well, honey, yo' put de clothes asoak
de night afore,n unwillingly began Hnda,
"in plenty of bar soap sliced up thin; an
yo' bile 'em well, an yo' doan forgit de
bluein', an mind yo' doan git de starch too
stiff, an be suah yo' rensh de clothes right
smart, an'-oh oh dar goes de pain in
my po' ole bones, agin, ies for all de world
like crooked lighmin'.n
So Roxy returned home not much wiser
than she went. "I'd give all my algebra
and geometry, " sighed she, ''if only knew
how to wash.n
Joy of joys as she went past Squire
Honeywells big cream-colored house she
saw a colony of white garments, veritable
flags of truce to her troubled mind flutter-
ing in the wind from line in the back gar
den.
They're washing, said Roxy to herself
with a Frightening face. "Now's the time